


Alone Among Friends

by FatalSmiles



Category: The Aquabats! Super Show!
Genre: Angst, Drama, Gay Sex, M/M, Questions Of Consent, comedic filler, commander being a dick, heavy masturbation, more drama, robophelia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-13
Updated: 2016-01-13
Packaged: 2018-04-14 10:56:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4561917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FatalSmiles/pseuds/FatalSmiles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Commander has been having some serious trouble sleeping. He often wakes up in the middle of the night needing release.<br/>When his fantasies of past lovers start feeling dry, Commander gets an Idea: why not breach the boundary between friends and lovers a little? If it's just in his head then it's not hurting anyone, right?<br/>He finds out just how wrong he is.<br/>Filled to the brim with angst, drama, and also funny filler with the rest of the gang. Also, lots of porn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> For starters I would like to say that this is a first-time Aquabats fic that was constructed for pleasure, not business. I've only have had one close friend really Beta for me, and other than that It's mostly just me writing and going back to each chapter after a few days and saying "oh, i don't like that, I think I'll change that."
> 
> Constructive criticism about the character's personalities, as well as advice on how to write better porn, are always welcome. I always like to improve. 
> 
> WARNING: This opening chapter is pretty heavy. It's personally one of my favorite chapters, but for some it might be a killer. If you don't like what you're reading, at least skip to chapter two before you decide to move on. I try to balance my light-hearted filler with my drama-llamas. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy! And thanks for reading!

* * *

It was often two in the morning when Commander woke up. It was never much of a surprise to him anymore. Restlessness seemed to be a frequency and, as the years went by, he found it harder and harder to go back to sleep. 

Why exactly he couldn't settle back down had been a mystery for the first few months it started happening. But after lying awake, night after night, waiting for sleep to envelope him once more he reached two conclusions: 1) The bed was not as comfortable as it used to be and he needed to call the mattress store up town. 2) He was lonely. 

The first problem was easily remedied. The second stunned him. The concept was difficult for Commander to understand. He slept in a room with three other men and a robot. He hung out with these same guys all the time. He and his team did rad things just about every single day. He was a hip and devastatingly handsome person. He was the leader of the Aquabats!

So how, when in the company of his four best friends and comrades, could he feel lonely? But, there was no other word for it. There was stiffness inside his chest that would cause long forgotten memories to return to him. And no other soul on the tram could soothe those wounds; they were all asleep.

He found his mind wandering to places it had not been in a long, long time. He contemplated simple things like the feel of holding someone through the night or the gentle touch of a hand. But he also found himself contemplating more complicated things. And once in a great while these complicated things would make themselves known in complicated ways. Such as a pitched tent. 

On those nights he would have to push himself out of bed, walk down the hallway on the cold, metal floors of the Battletram, and beat himself off in the bathroom. It was neither pretty nor satisfying. As he washed his sticky hands in the sink he would look at himself in the mirror and take note of the circles beneath his eyes, and the sprouting crow’s feet on either side. Then he would go back to his bed and wait, sometimes hours, to fall back asleep. 

At night everything seemed a bleak existence, but when he woke up in the morning he rarely felt the same way as he had the previous night. There was something about the sun and the atmosphere around him that always made him forget, and he wanted to forget. The MC Bat Commander would walk towards danger with no fear, and push ever forwards into victory. He would save his doubts for his uncomfortable bed, and save his wants for the bathroom down the cold metal hallway. 

This was his life. 

* * *

Commander woke up to his cock throbbing. It didn't happen often, maybe about once every two weeks but it still aggravated him. He felt like some kind of teenager. it was annoying having to cater to his needs so frequently. He supposed he could just leave it; he had supposed this many times and prayed it would just ebb away like morning wood. The issue was that when he tried to do this he ended up staying awake all night. Long after he went flaccid he found himself staring at the ceiling until the sun came up. 

It was merely a matter of convenience. Walk to the bathroom and jerk one off so he could fall asleep quicker, or stay awake all night and spend the entirety of the next day off kilter. In the life he led, it was never a good idea to have an off-day on any given day. So he dealt with himself quickly and grumbled about it later. 

Commander rolled over, climbed out of bed, and slipped on his slippers. As he made his way to the hall he passed his other teammates asleep in their beds. Crash's teddy bear was hanging precariously close to the edge of the bunk. Commander repositioned it as he passed. The room hummed with gentle breathing and, in the case of Eaglebones, a snore. But the hum was broken when Commander reached the door.

"Are you okay, Commander?"

Commander turned to see Jimmy, eyes aglow, staring at him from the chair at the back of the room. Jimmy's question was not infrequent. Just about every other time Commander left to take care of himself, Jimmy made his voice heard. How he was able to suddenly pull himself out of hibernation mode was anyone's guess. 

Commander nodded without looking at Jimmy and pressed the hatch key to open the door.

"Bathroom, Robot, Bathroom." He mumbled, and walked out into the dark hallway. 

Once in the bathroom, he began his custom. The toilet seat and lid were slapped down so he could sit. He folded a towel for back support and placed it along the tank of the toilet. The slippers came off and his toes found the rug. Once the seating arrangements pleased him, he spat in his hand and stuffed it down his pants. 

He wanted to get the whole thing over with, but he didn't think he could deny that he enjoyed being a little rough with himself. He went fast at first, his spit slicking his cock. He curled his hand into a fist and pumped rapidly, feeling the heat swell from his groin up into his stomach and chest. He wondered briefly why he didn't enjoy masturbating, but this small thought was lost in his growing pleasure. 

After a short time his arm started to get tired and he was beginning to feel breathless. Commander closed his eyes and tilted his head back. He pumped himself slower, but tugged with a tighter grip, curving his fist up and over the head of his cock for some added pleasure.

His mind wandered. It always did at that stage in his routine. He would see naked women from porn magazines he had had many years ago. Sometimes he would see Lizzie, Geraldine, or Roxanne. Other times he would see Theo or Jack. All people he had known and loved throughout his life but had left behind to pursue his own needs, his own dreams. It would all float around in his head until he decided to latch onto something. 

But he couldn't find anything. Everything had been touched upon time and time again. There was no life to anything. Commander squeezed his eyes shut and tried to concentrate on touching himself, but his focus just wasn't going to cut it, he needed something more. 

He fished around in his memory franticly and settled on Geraldine, his old college sweetheart. The best blowjob he had ever gotten was from her. He watched in his mind's eye as she got down on her knees in front of him. 

She smirked up at him in that sly way he always remembered. Then she moved in on him, taking his dick in her mouth and teasing him gently with her tongue. 

Commander sighed and tried to imitate her tongue movements with his thumb against the head of his cock. She went down on him then, enveloping him in a heat that made him groan. She took him in to the hilt and held him there, gently rolling her tongue along the underside of his cock. She didn't move, she just kept herself in place. The heat from her mouth was hard enough to endure but he couldn't stand her not moving. She knew it too. She had always known those little things that made him squirm. 

And then suddenly all Commander could think about was her smile whenever he said something funny and how he had always felt a little proud of himself every time he had made her laugh. He remembered her soft kiss on the nape of his neck when they cuddled together at the movie theater. He remembered the look in her eye she got after every time they had sex. It was an indescribable expression, like she thought he could do no wrong. She had loved him so much, but she couldn't cope with his obsessions about rock bands and superheroes. She couldn't understand why he was so set on his "unrealistic" goals. 

Commander still wasn't sure who broke it off first. There was so much fighting and pain between them when it ended. But he did know that she had loved him. Even if it was only for those brief years they spent together, she had indeed loved him. 

Commander had stopped touching himself. He felt absolutely discouraged. He knew there would never be another time in his life when someone would look at him that way. Was the realization of his only dream really worth being as alone as he was now, masturbating on the toilet? 

He looked down at his cock, which was already half flaccid. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep for the rest of the night if he went back to bed now. He just needed to get it over with. He didn't have anything left in his head to keep going, but he knew he couldn't just sit there with his dick in his hand and mope. 

Then, an idea occurred to him.

The concept was harmless really. It wouldn't hurt anyone. With no one left to offer him a romantic relationship, why not push the border between friends and lovers just a little? 

Commander took his cock in his hand again, stroking softly. He imagined Geraldine again, her face between his legs, her bobbing up and down. Then, Commander tentatively switched her face with Crash's. It wasn't difficult to do, he saw Crash every day. He looked down at Crash's bulky form and saw the other man's eyebrows knitted together in concentration. Commander pumped himself a little faster, but it only took him a few seconds to realize that this was doing nothing for him. He let his hand rest while he thought of something else. 

His first boyfriend, Theo came to mind. Theo had been rather small and gangly and had let Commander fuck him hard over the railing of his apartment's balcony. He imagined Eaglebones in this position, moaning loudly, his long hair blowing around in the wind. Commander tried to imagine what Eaglebones' voice would sound like when he was being pounded into, but the outcome was less than satisfying. 

He was becoming discouraged. He thought again for a moment, leaning back against the toilet and closing his eyes. He imagined walking back through the metal hallway to the bedroom; Imagined opening the door and being greeted by a glowing pair of eyes. 

Jimmy stood and walked over to Commander, pushing him against the wall of the room and grabbing firmly at his balls. Commander felt a pang in his belly, and a rush of heat to his groin. This was what he had been looking for. 

Jimmy wasn't one for foreplay as he pulled up on commander's shirt and pressed his cold hand to his superior's belly. Commander shivered as the hand slid down below his waistline. Jimmy found his erect cock and smirked in a way Commander found intimidatingly hot. 

Jimmy started stroking his cold hand over Commander's cock; the heat and friction between the two of them turning the metal warm.

Commander licked his hand again and began sliding it up and down his cock in a way he thought only Jimmy would do. Jimmy, with his painful sentimentality, would want everything to be drawn out. He would want commander to feel every slight movement. 

Commander squeezed his cock hard and went slow, painfully slow. The thought of Jimmy's eye on him only made the burn worse. He was breathless and gritted his teeth. 

Jimmy bent in close to Commander's face and whispered in his ear. 

"Do you like that, Commander?" 

The sheer thought of this was all commander could take. He cupped his balls and went at himself with no mercy. His hand was a blur of movement as he panted, pushing himself closer and closer to the edge. 

Commander buried the head of his cock in toilet paper as he came. It caught the spurts of cum as he stared, dumbfounded, at the bathroom ceiling. He sat on the toilet for a long time, much longer than he did on a usual night. The image of Jimmy's intent face was still burned into the forefront of his mind. Why had Commander not thought of that before? Jimmy was absolutely perfect. 

Finally Commander managed to tear his eyes from the ceiling and look down at himself. In one hand was his limp cock. In the other was a sticky wad of toilet paper. His pants had pushed themselves down past his ass and his shirt had decided to ride up his chest. He was covered in sweat, and cold from it. 

He felt disgusted with himself. Of all the things he could have imagined, it had to have been Jimmy. Jimmy, one of the most vulnerable guys on the team. The one person with whom he had the closest relationship.

The Robot had done something for him where others failed apparently. Commander had always liked Jimmy a lot, but he had never realized quite how much. But, after it was all over, Commander felt only disappointment in himself. Jimmy didn't deserve to be sexualized. 

Commander went back to bed that night with a sick feeling in his gut. He wondered, when the time came that he would need relief again, if he would use Jimmy in his fantasies? Knowing himself, Commander knew that his post-orgasm self was much stronger than his pre-orgasm. He couldn't guarantee to himself that Jimmy wouldn’t become another item. 

He did, however, know one thing for sure when he woke up in the morning: he had had the best night's sleep in weeks thanks to that Robot.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second chapter! I've got about eight typed out. Two are still in their editing phase. I'll post until chapter four, then start trying to post at least one a week. Chapters after #8 might come later though.

* * *

"Commander, my eagle vision can't find them anywhere!" 

"And our sonar isn't picking up on any foreign objects."

Commander sat in the passenger's seat. The team was deep underwater in the Battletram, re-constructed into a submarine and, up until a moment ago, had been tracking a band of evil underwater pirates. Eaglebones was jumping frantically from window to window, eyes wide. Crash sat looking at the sonar map over Jimmy's shoulder. Ricky was sitting with his hands clenched tight to either side of his seat. 

"Too bad we lost 'em." Ricky stammered. "Maybe we should go back to the surface. Y'know, where there's land, and we won't drown."

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Ricky." Commander narrowed his eyebrows. He was getting tired of Ricky complaining about being deep under ocean waters, it was almost as bad as listening to Crash rant about how gross he got when he was near a cat. The Tram was full of the cries of his panicked team members.

"Any ideas commander?" Jimmy looked over at him. Commander placed a hand on his chin and gnashed his teeth. 

"Wait!" Crash shouted. "I heard something." The room went quiet in an instant. Eaglebones had stopped running in circles. There was no sound.

"Crash," began Commander "We're not hearing anyth--" 

Suddenly there was a loud wailing noise, followed by a crash that shook the tram. Water began to seep slowly through the door. Ricky screamed. 

"What the what was that?" Commander yelled. Jimmy's eyes darted over the screens on the dash. 

"We've taken a blow off the port side, Commander" 

"What?"

Jimmy Rolled his eyes. "We got hit by a missile and now we're sinking."

"Oh!"

Everyone screamed. 

"I always knew I would die like this," Cried Ricky. Eaglebones looked over at him.

"Seriously man, what is it with you and -- Guys, look!" Eaglebones pointed out into the distance. There was the submarine. It was humongous and shaped like a hammerhead shark. 

"Firing the missile must have required them to lower some kind of detection shield," Exclaimed Jimmy. "Quick, we need to find a way to track them before they put the shield back up."

They all looked at one another. Commander was at a loss. 

"I don't remember us installing anything like that." He said, looking at the flashing lights on the dashboard. Crash looked as though he was trying to solve a complex puzzle. Ricky was curled up onto his seat away from the rising water. Eaglebones had not looked away from the submarine once and was frozen, still pointing determinedly at it. 

"Can't you launch something at it?" Ricky whined. "We could throw my cell phone, that emits a signal we can track right? We are sinking!"

"Wait I have another idea!" Commander stood up and walked over to to Ricky. "We could throw your cell phone at the pirate submarine and track the signal! All we need is something sticky and we can shoot it out of our missile launcher so it attaches to the other ship." He held out his hand for Ricky's phone but just as Ricky was about to cough it up Jimmy intervened.

"That won't be necessary commander. I have a better idea." Everyone looked up to see Jimmy removing his hand from its socket. "I have a scanner in my head that can track the location of any of my body parts. If we fire my hand out onto the ship we may be able to follow it back to its lair."

Commander smiled. "Excellent idea robot! But first, can you do something about the water?" Jimmy nodded, turned to his left, and pulled a lever on the wall. There was a loud flushing noise and then the water drained away. Ricky looked around, exasperated.

* * *

It was a long day, but not an unfulfilling one. The team had managed to track the shark submarine with the help of Jimmy's hand and defeat the horrendous Captain Stringray, who fought by turning her fingers into venomous whips. The pirate crew had thought it could flood the world and make itself the leaders of a new aquatic kingdom. But after their encounter with the Aquabats, the only thing Captain Stingray would be the queen of was an underwater prison cell in Atlantis. 

That night they celebrated by watching a cartoon and sharing a huge bowl of popcorn. Victory was sweet. 

As the night went on, the guys ate their way through three bowls of popcorn and several cups of hot cocoa a piece. When Eaglebones had started to snore against the couch cushions, Ricky groggily stood, woke him up, and they stumbled back to the bedroom. After about an hour or so, Crash did the same. 

"Oh c'mon Crash, we've almost finished the season." Commander said. 

"Naw, you guys finish, I'll catch up another night, I'm bushed." And with that Crash yawned and left for bed. Commander frowned.

"And then there were two..." He sighed, kicking his feet up on the table. Jimmy nodded politely and said nothing. 

Commander looked over at Jimmy. The flashing images on the television highlighted the contours of the robot's face. He looked down at Jimmy's hands and saw the metal glistening as they grasped his cup of hot cocoa. The idea of a would-be handjob suddenly invaded Commander's thoughts. He turned away quickly. 

He didn't feel uncomfortable sitting next to Jimmy by any means. It was just... weird. Commander had imagined those hands on his cock only just last night and it was just plain strange having Jimmy sit next to him like the buddies they always were. If it was always going to feel a little weird just sitting alone with Jimmy was it worth imagining him in a sexual fantasy?

Jimmy sipped the last of his cocoa, too enthralled with what he was watching to notice that Commander had stopped entirely focusing on what they were watching. Commander was too busy thinking. He hadn't had much time that day to think about the events of the previous night. Was it bad that he had sexualized one of his best friends? It wasn't like Commander was going to tell any of the guys what he masturbated to. What Jimmy didn't know wouldn't hurt him, and Commander didn't think he was hurting himself either. He was just trying to get himself through another night. He just wanted a good rest. 

It wasn't exactly difficult for Commander to justify what he was doing. He figured as long as he didn't feel any type of emotional need for Jimmy -- therefore potentially ruining their friendship and the relationship he had with the band -- he could continue using the idea of Jimmy for his sexual fantasies. Things were so much easier to accept when he was with a friend, fully awake. The guilt of the previous night weighed less heavily on him. 

The credits for the episode began to roll just as Commander settled in to this self-assured state of mind. He was feeling pretty good overall. 

"The next episode is the last one." Asserted Jimmy. His words broke so suddenly into their mutual silence Commander jumped. 

"Oh, you're right, Robot Friend." He smiled and held the remote aloft. 

"How do you think it will end?" Jimmy asked. "This is the very last episode until the next season comes out." Commander turned to look at the excited robot with an appraising smile. 

"Well, I could tell you how it's probably going to end." He said, brushing his knuckles against his shirt. "And by probably I mean most likely, because I'm usually pretty right about these kinds of things. Or we could just watch the episode." 

Jimmy nodded again, looking thoughtful. "How about you tell me how it's probably going to end, and then we see how it ends to see if you were right?" He suggested. Jimmy always knew how to stroke the Commander's ego. The Commander loved that about him. 

Commander spent the next fifteen minutes relating his theories to the attentive Robot. Sometimes Commander didn't think Jimmy had a very good idea of how frequently he was supposed to blink, but it didn't matter much.

When they finally played the episode, it turned out Commander was entirely off-base with his prediction, which dampened his mood considerably. He crossed his arms and pouted at the screen, occasionally making the odd gesture at characters on the screen. 

"Why would he choose to do that though, it doesn't make any sense, is he crazy?"

"It's okay, Commander. I thought your idea was cool anyway." Jimmy reached over and patted him on the shoulder. Jimmy's hands were just as cold as Commander imagined them; he could feel it through his shirt. The idea of warming them in a few interesting ways flashed across his mind, but he pushed the ideas back to save for later. 

The episode ended with both of them utterly enraptured. As the credits rolled they sat in shocked silence. 

"That was so cool! Gah!" Commander said, curling his hand into a fist at the screen.

"Now we have to wait for the next season." Jimmy said, downtrodden.

"Don't remind me, Robot." Commander sighed, falling back into the cushions of the couch. Then an idea occurred to him. And idea that might work to cheer himself up.

He acted on it before he had time enough to question himself. 

"Robot I can't find the remote, can you turn the TV off please?" He asked with a huge plastered smile as he hid the television remote in the couch cushions. Jimmy looked pleased with how politely he had asked the question. 

"Certainly, Commander." He stood, walked over to the TV, and reached up. Commander watched as Jimmy's shirt strained against his skin, and the tone of his ass showed more prominently through his shorts. When Jimmy finally turned the TV off and turned around, It took a second for Commander to reassert his gaze to Jimmy's face. He was pretty sure there had been a dumb look on his face.

"Everything okay, Commander?" Jimmy asked. Commander smiled, trying to make a quick recovery. 

"I'm just peachy, Jimmy." He said, standing up to stretch. He was going to enjoy that memory in the future. He had never before looked forward to the next time he needed to masturbate, but now Commander was almost giddy. He finally had some new material to work with that didn't make him feel old and lonely. He turned to go to bed, thinking about different scenarios he could put Jimmy in, leaving the actual Jimmy behind. 

"I'm off to bed," He yawned, waving over his shoulder. "Goodnight, Robot." There was a pause and then:

"Uhm, Commander?" Commander stopped and turned around. Jimmy was striding up to him, looking anxious. Commander knew the question without it even being asked. 

"You wanna sleep in the bedroom again?" He asked. Jimmy nodded. 

"I would like that." Jimmy said. Commander put his hand to his chin. 

"You know you have an agreement with the guys about how frequently you sleep in with us, Jimmy." He Asserted. Jimmy looked crestfallen. 

"Yes I know but I thought you wouldn't mind..."

Commander didn't mind at all, it was actually kind of nice waking up in the middle of the night to see Jimmy in the rocking chair, equally awake for some odd reason. He felt less lonely. But he didn't want to cause issues with the other guys. The whole incident with the Floating Eye of Death hadn't sat too well with the other guys, and if Crash wanted to avoid gruesome bedtime stories, and Eaglebones wanted to avoid getting watched in his sleep, then why should Commander be the one to disrupt the peace? It was a difficult decision for him to make. Commander's fantasy from the previous night came back to him suddenly and the idea of Jimmy in the bedroom suddenly seemed so much more necessary.

"Jimmy, I don't think I can let you do that. It's monday night, you know the rule."

"Only weekends," Jimmy sighed. They looked awkwardly at each other for a moment. Finally, Jimmy said: "Sometimes... Sometimes my Hibernation mode malfunctions in the middle of the night, and my system boots me back up before I'm ready. My charging system in the lab will wake me up when I'm fully charged, but my hibernation mode is designed to pick up where my charge left off, or otherwise last for eight hours, which is the average length of a sleeping cycle. So I'll wake up halfway through my cycle... in the middle of the night... in the dark."

Commander looked at him. Jimmy's story sounded creepily familiar. 

"And you'd rather wake up next to us than in the lab?" Commander asked. Jimmy nodded, pursing his lips. Commander realized that Jimmy might be embarrassed after having said all of this. He gingerly patted the robot's arm. 

"Listen Jimmy," He said, "I don't really care if you are in there at all, so I'm not the guy you need to take this issue up with. You need to tell the rest of the guys what's going on."

Jimmy's gaze never left the ground, but he nodded. "So, I'm sleeping in the lab tonight?" He asked. Commander hesitated. 

"Yeah," he said. Jimmy's shoulders slumped. Commander felt awkward. He no longer felt comfortable in Jimmy's presence. He hated it when stuff like this happened. 

"Well, I gotta get some sleep." He turned on his heels. "Goodnight Jimmy. Sleep well."

"Yeah," he heard Jimmy's small voice from behind him as he walked down the hallway. Commander hoped, for Jimmy's sake, that he would go into hibernation mode as soon as he finished charging. He knew what it was like to wake up alone. But it was going to be difficult to get the other guys to understand. 

As Commander got into bed he pushed his concerned thoughts from his mind. It was late, and he really was tired.

* * *

Tired though he was, Commander's eyes remained glued to the ceiling of his bunk. The white noise of his other friends' breathing became his only comfort and suddenly he regretted denying Jimmy, until an idea occurred to him. 

He didn't want to get out of bed. That would take too much effort at this point. Instead he closed his eyes and let his mind slip away. 

Commander was in a dimly lit room, there was a bed with sheets of an indiscernible color, and a large bay window that let the yellow of a street lamp stream in and lavish the walls in its sultry decor. Commander remembered the room well, he had spent uncountable nights there with a former lover. 

There was the click of a lock behind him, and he turned to see someone stepping into the room. Instead of seeing the burly form of Jack, Commander saw the tall, chubby form of Jimmy. 

Commander rolled over to face the wall in his bunk. Gingerly, he sunk his hand into his pants. His cold fingers against his cock gave him an icy shock and he shivered, taking pleasure from it. 

Jimmy stepped into the dark room, pressing his hands against commander's shoulders. Commander walked backward until his shins hit the bed. He fell onto the mattress. The other man was on him in a flash. Jimmy straddled Commander, pressing his hand against Commander's chest to hold him steady. There was a pleading look in his eye. 

Commander was running his hand up and down the length of his cock slowly. This was going to be good. 

Jimmy undid his belt and let it fall to the floor. Commander raised his hands to try and touch the Robot but he pushed them away. He was going to do this on his own terms, and Commander wouldn't have had it any other way. 

Commander watched as his friend unzipped his own pants and pushed them down his waist, revealing a large, painfully erect cock. Commander smiled to himself. It was his fantasy after all. 

Jimmy touched himself, his metal hands illuminated by the yellow light from the window. The contours of his face defined like how they had been from the television earlier that evening. The Robot closed his eyes and bowed his head as he focused on running his hand up and down his own cock. 

God, he looked fantastic. Jimmy really was something. 

Commander's cock throbbed. He spit into his hand and stuffed it down his pants. He was so ready for this. 

Bellow him Eaglebones gave a loud snort in his sleep; so loud that Ricky woke with a start across from him. Commander's heart skipped a beat, he froze, listening. Ricky groaned, then there was a shifting of blankets, and a huff of breath. 

Commander waited a moment before looking over his shoulder. Ricky had rolled over to face the wall, curled into a ball. Commander sighed. He was still gripping his erection in his pants. But the incident had him shaken. He would have to finish this in the bathroom. The bedroom just wasn't a logical place to do personal business. 

With a grunt he heaved himself out of bed, slid on his slippers, and walked himself down the cold hallway.


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

The following weeks proved to be interesting for Commander.

Jimmy didn't bother confronting the rest of the team about the sleeping affairs, instead he only marginally hinted at his discomfort. And by marginally hinting he made long, drawn out speeches about the agonies of sleeping alone in a cold laboratory. He didn't mention a thing about his malfunctioning hibernation mode. Commander figured it had something to do with The Robot's sense of pride. But, whatever Jimmy's reasons for not being straightforward about his issues, his passive speeches were not making much of a difference on the rest of the guys. If anything, it made them more inclined to kick him out of the room at the end of the day. And every time he was he could only look despairingly over at Commander.

When this happened, Commander came to a crossroads. Should he defend Jimmy and go against popular vote to keep him out of the room, or should he just roll over and go to sleep? It wasn't that Commander wanted to avoid confrontation; he just had a lot of things on his own mind. So, just about every night, he found himself shrugging at Jimmy apologetically before lying down to go to bed. All Jimmy could really do at that point was purse his lips, narrow his eyes, and leave the room in a huff. 

After that it only took a few minutes for Commander to justify what he had just done before falling off to sleep. 

His nightly emissions had become more frequent in this short span of time. He would wake up in the middle of the night and find himself almost rushing, giddy, to the bathroom. As he tugged at his cock, image after image of Jimmy slid by behind his eyelids. His favorite had to have been the most recent memory of Jimmy's ass. He replayed that moment in his mind's eye so many times, changing scenarios almost every time. 

Once, as Jimmy reached up, Commander came up from behind to push him into the wall. He'd press his chest against Jimmy's back while he groped, running his hands up the Robot's sides, squeezing his love handles, and fondling his ass. Commander tried to imagine the sounds he thought his friend might make if he did this and was gratified to the point of orgasm. But Commander knew that whatever Jimmy sounded like in his head it would be nothing compared to the real thing. 

Another time, Commander watched as Jimmy caught him in the act of peeking. Jimmy got a smug look on his face and waltzed right over to sit himself on Commander's lap, grinding their cocks together through their pants. 

Commander would cum with stars behind his eyes every time. Jimmy became more and more attractive to him by the day. However, thinking about his friend did cause him to wonder a few concerning facts; such as whether or not Jimmy, being the robot that he was, could orgasm, or if he actually had a penis at all. 

When commander thought of this he often had to take a reality check. it wasn't important in the scheme of things if he wasn't actually going to try anything with Jimmy. He wasn't such a selfish person that he would actually act on any of his fantasies. That's all they were. And he was going to enjoy them for what they were. 

Sometime after Commander's fantasies and Jimmy's struggle to integrate himself into the team bedroom had begun, Ricky came striding into the kitchen as Crash was cooking breakfast for everyone. 

"Good news!" He beamed. Everyone looked up at him. 

"Wow, you're dressed early Ricky." Commander noted. "What's the occasion?" Ricky Frowned. 

"I actually get out of bed before eleven o'clock." He said. Everyone else nodded in appreciation. "Anyway, I have some good news! "Ricky continued. "We've got a gig!" Everyone jumped to their feet. Crash flipped his frying pan into the air and toppled a set of pancakes onto his head. 

"A gig!" Crash exclaimed. "We haven't had one of those in so long!"

"Yeah," Eaglebones chimed in "Everyone always wants us to save the world and stuff now. It's like we're more superheroes than rock band anymore." He patted his guitar sadly. 

"Well, not anymore." Ricky beamed. "I just set us up for a huge performance at the Spooky Haunted Deathtrap Arena tonight. And I have a source that says the place has been booked for tickets since last week." Everyone cheered at this. The prospect of having their first live show in months was overwhelmingly fantastic. 

"Aquabats," Commander shouted. "Let's get practicing for tonight!"

"Wait, Commander," Jimmy held up his hand. He had a troubled expression on his face. Everyone turned to look at him. "How can a show that we've only just this morning found out about, be booked out since last week?" Everyone paused to reflect on Jimmy's concern. The scenario was strange; there was no doubt about that. 

"Ah well," Eaglebones shrugged. "Who cares, we got a show!"

"Too true, Eaglebones!" Commander agreed. "Aquabats, let's get practicing!" Everyone shouted their appreciation except Jimmy, who could only offer Commander a look of disappointment. 

The band practiced well up to the time of the concert before rushing to get to the arena on time. Jimmy drove as they all frantically stuffed hamburgers into their faces. 

"Gotta keep the energy levels up, Aquabats." Commander said through a mouthful of food. Ricky wrinkled his nose. 

The exterior of the building looked trashy. It was covered in graffiti and garbage, and the door was rusted partially off its hinges. The team looked at it with some uncertainty. 

"Ricky, are you sure this is the right place?" Commander asked. Ricky pulled a huge map covered in highlighter out of his pocket. 

"There's no doubt about it, Commander, this is the spot I was told. 408 Maul street in Killersville. See look, it's adjacent to Nightmare Avenue, and Get-Out-While-You-Still-Can Boulevard." He held out the map for everyone to see. They all examined it. This was the place alright. 

A woman in a trenchcoat and trilby hat stepped out from the shadows of the building. As she got closer, Commander could see that her face was unnaturally pink and glossy looking, and her lipstick was bright red and smudged around her lips. When she got to them she stopped and stared. Everyone turned and looked expectantly at Ricky. He stepped forward. 

"Is this the Spooky Haunted Deathtrap Arena?" He asked. The woman nodded. 

"Fantastic," Commander said. "We're the Aquabats and we're here to perform tonight." The woman gave a ghastly grin of rotting teeth. Commander's face puckered in disgust. Everyone took a disgruntled step backward except Ricky, who smiled back. The woman gestured for the band to follow her as she pushed open the old door to the stadium. 

Everyone followed, except Jimmy, who grabbed Commander by the shoulder. 

"Commander, I have a really bad feeling about this." He said. Commander had never seen him look so serious. "This doesn't add up well. I feel like we may be being lead into some kind of trap." Commander frowned. He really wanted to do this gig tonight and Jimmy was kind of putting a damper on the whole thing. But if he called off the gig, maybe Jimmy's bad mood towards him from the past few weeks would dissipate. He looked at Jimmy a long time, so long he suddenly found himself paying a little too much attention to the feeling of Jimmy's hand on his shoulder. Jimmy waited patiently for a reply. 

"Robot," He hesitated. "What makes you so sure about this?"

But whatever reply Jimmy had ready, it was dashed by Crash coming back out the door.

"Hey, you two, come in here, they've got some wicked punch!"

Commander and Jimmy exchanged looks before Commander turned on his heels to follow Crash in the building. The prospect of punch was too great. He didn't look back to see Jimmy, but he was sure the robot was probably disappointed. Commander wasn't sure how he felt about that. He was going to have to find a way to make all of this up to Jimmy, he really was. 

Inside the building there were a few other bands. Eaglebones was talking to a particularly metal looking group, and Crash and Ricky were helping themselves to the hors d'oeuvres. Commander walked over to the punch bowl and made two cups. He handed one to a disgruntled Jimmy as he came into the room. 

"This place looks a lot nicer on the inside." Commander commented, taking note of the reddish lighting and the concrete floors. Jimmy pouted and drank his punch. Commander was about to do the same when another woman walked over to him. She was dressed smartly in a suit jacket and had two other people in trench coats on either side of her. Commander recognized the pinkish woman in the trench coat from earlier. The other person was a guy. All three of them had a gross, painted look about their faces, and all three of them wore odd colors of lipstick smeared over their lips. Suit-jacket lady had orange lipstick and smiled at Commander in greeting, showing her own set of blackened, rotting teeth. 

"The MC Bat Commander," She chimmed. "We are so glad you could come!" Her voice was like fingernails against a chalkboard. Crash and Ricky jumped at the hors d'oeuvres table and covered their ears, looking back to see who was talking. 

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Eloise, the Mayor. I hope your friend Ricky told you over the phone what exactly we have planned tonight?" She asked expectantly.

"You know," Commander looked over at Ricky and raised an eyebrow. "I don't think Ricky said."

Mayor Eloise laughed. "Our small community has been a bit run down as of late. Some of us have trouble finding food if you know what I mean." 

"You community is in poverty?" Jimmy asked. 

"You could say that." She smiled. "So, to cheer everyone up, I spent a few tax dollars to throw this big concert. Tickets are half price so it could be easier for people to come in. We love our rock bands here. Especially the Aquabats" She clasped her hands together and held them against her cheek, looking at Jimmy and Commander with big, loving, bloodshot eyes.

Commander smiled in spite of himself. 

"Right," said Jimmy. "Well, I am sorry to say this to you, but the Aquabats have business in other places so we're going to have to --"

"Now hold on Robot," Commander clasped his hand over Jimmy's mouth. "We can't deny these nice people a show. Especially after offering up tasty hors d'oeuvres and compliments." Mayor Eloise grinned. 

Jimmy looked nearly ready to blow a gasket. "Commander I need a word with you in private." Jimmy spun commander around and crouched him into a huddle. 

"Listen, Commander, I think that this would be a really unwise decision. This place is run down and possibly at risk of tons of hazards. Not to mention I have an incredibly bad feeling about that woman and her trench coat goons." Commander frowned. He understood the points Jimmy was making, even though he had trouble identifying the issues himself. Jimmy was being incredibly earnest about all of this, more so than usual. Commander found himself suddenly more inclined to give in to Jimmy, even if just for the sake of humoring him. He nodded, eliciting an extremely relieved look from Jimmy. But before Commander could say anything, Ricky bounded over and wedged himself into the huddle. 

"Are you talking about Mayor Eloise?" He beamed. "She's fantastic am I right? Though she sounded much nicer over the telephone I gotta say." Jimmy gave Ricky a stern look, which Ricky didn't seem to notice. "Anyway, she offered us a huge hunk of moolah. Nothing short of a hundred grand and a fraction of the ticket sales if we performed today." 

Ricky looked from Commander to Jimmy. Jimmy looked at Ricky. Commander looked at Ricky. Jimmy and Commander looked at each other. Commander gave Jimmy a pleading look. Jimmy hesitated. 

"Y'know, my sensors must be malfunctioning." Jimmy said finally, giving in. "I'm not picking up any potential threats in the area as far as I'm concerned."

"Fantastic!" Commander exclaimed. "Aquabats!" Commander pulled away from the huddle. The guys all looked up from what they were doing. "Let's rock the socks of these guys!"


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

The Aquabats were the final performance after a series of other bands. There were eight of them in all. Each band went out to an uproar of cheers that sounded suspiciously like screams of terror. The team was on the edge of its seat, so ready.

Commander looked at his friends and saw a confused expression on Eaglebones' face. 

"What is it, Eaglebones?" Commander asked. 

"I just realized," Eaglebones said. "That we haven't seen any of the other bands since their performances."

"Oh, that's just because they're signing autographs," Mayor Eloise assured. "So many people from our bustling community came out tonight I wouldn't be surprised if they were signing autographs forever." She laughed. The guys laughed too, nervously. Commander wasn't sure if he liked the way the Mayor had said the word "forever." Jimmy sat with his arms crossed, not listening. 

There was another wail of cheers as the seventh band finished its final song. 

"Oh, you're up next!" Eloise Exclaimed, clapping her hands together excitedly. "Hurry on out! Break a leg! Knock yourselves dead!"

"Okay!" Ricky beamed, and waved at her as they left for the stage. Commander readied himself, jumping up and down to warm himself up. This was it. That feeling of adrenaline just before the show. He was so ready for this. Everyone ran out on stage. Commander bounded to center, taking the mic and howling into it. 

He couldn't see the crowd very well, the lights were incredibly dim in any place that wasn't the stage. As he sang and bounced around to a tumult of cheers he tried to locate a set of autograph tables in the back, anything that showed evidence of the other band members' presence. But it was no use. The lights were just too dim for him to see. 

Dark hands fished up on the stage, one grabbing Crash by the ankle as he stepped up to the mic. Crash sang his harmony, kicking out at the hand until it let go. When he was done, he gave Commander a frightened look. It kept up like this for an hour and a half. The odd, screaming cheers, the groping hands, the completely unseeable crowd. It was the creepiest show Commander had ever done.

And when it all came to an end it got worse. 

As the last chord played, Mayor Eloise stepped up on stage. "This has been the Aquabats!" She declared, clapping her hands at them. The crowd screamed. "And now," she continued. "We're going to invite them to dinner!"

The entire arena lit up. It was filled to the brim with zombies. 

"Enjoy, my people!" She screamed. "Devour the Aquabats!"

"Wait," Cried Ricky. She turned to look at him. The make-up on her face had smeared away to reveal rotting greyish-green skin. "So does this mean we're not getting that one-hundred thousand bucks?" 

"No, of course not!" Zombie Mayor Eloise wailed. "I just wanted to give my friends a chance to play with their food before they ate it!"

Jimmy looked at Commander and raised an eyebrow in an I-told-you-so expression. Everyone looked at each other, terrified. Zombies started crawling up onto the stage. Eaglebones slashed his guitar, shooting lasers at the hoard. 

"Commander," he yelled, his knees shaking. "What do we do?" 

"Uh..." Commander looked frantically around. They were surrounded by hundreds of zombies. 

"Crash, do you think you could climb these stadium walls?" Commander asked. Crash punched a zombie in the gut before replying. 

"Uh, I don't know. I don't feel very emotional right now. Try saying something to me."

"Everyday animal shelters give away hundreds of puppies to new homes!" Yelled Eaglebones, shooting wave after wave of beams at the zombies. Everyone looked at him. 

"That's not upsetting, Eaglebones," Noted Commander, flipping a zombie onto it's head. "That is actually a very good thing!"

"Yeah, except that all everybody adopts are the puppies!" Eaglebones continued.  
"What!?" Exclaimed Crash. "You mean no one wants to adopt old dogs?"

"No," Said Eaglebones sadly. "So they all just sit in the kennels, growing out their beards and playing harmonica in sad doggie blues..."

"Well, you learn something new every day." Commander said appreciatively. 

"That's so sad it makes me angry!" Yelled Crash. "Getting emotional!" But just as he started to grow, two zombies came up to him from behind and grabbed at him. Crash yelled in terror and fought himself away from their grips. He ran up to stand next to Commander. 

"It's no use, Commander." Said Crash, his voice cracking. "I'm too scared to get emotional. I don't wanna get eaten by zombies!" Commander punched a zombie in the face. He again looked around frantically for another way out. But they were surrounded. Gross hands with dangling flesh and sharp bone reached out on all sides. 

"Any more ideas, Commander?" Ricky wailed, weaving in and out of the zombie hoard. Commander had none. There was nothing in his head. Everyone was yelling at him, and the zombies' wailing never stopped. 

"Commander!"

"Commander!"

"Commander!"

"I don't have a plan!" He shouted in a cracked voice, kicking and punching at every grimy hand that came at him.

"I do," Jimmy's voice piped up over the swell of sound. Everyone turned to look at him.

"You do?" Commander beamed. "Tell us, Robot Friend, tell us!" Jimmy pursed his lips. 

"No, I don't think I will."

"What!?" Everyone shouted. 

"Jimmy why won't you tell us? we're about to be eaten!" Commander demanded. Jimmy crossed his arms. 

"Because I told you this was a bad idea and now we're not even getting paid."

Commander ground his teeth together, taking his anger out on a nearby zombie.

"Jimmy, is this really the time to be making an 'I told you so' speech?" He asked. 

"No," Jimmy said simply. 

"Then tell us the plan, Jimmy!" Eaglebones yelled. 

"Not until Commander admits that he had a lapse of judgment." Jimmy said with finality. He stood, stock in place, as the zombies passed him by. None of them found robots appetizing apparently. Everyone turned to Commander. He had gone red in the face. 

"Robot," He began, trying to keep his voice level. "You cannot expect me to--"

"Yes, I can, Commander." Jimmy smirked. He was getting some smug satisfaction in doing this. Commander supposed this was Jimmy's payback for weeks of putting up with his behavior. But, Jimmy's timing was impeccable. 

Eaglebones looked at him. "Just do it Commander." The other guys nodded in agreement, each struggling to fight back amidst the mass of decaying bodies. Commander looked around at every one of them in dismay. Finally, his eyes came to rest on Jimmy, who had his eyebrows raised expectantly. 

"Ohhh...." Commander screwed up his face. "Fine! I'm sorry that I didn't tell everyone to leave when you said we should, I'm sorry I didn't trust your judgment in the first place, I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings, and I'm sorry that I've been avoiding talking to the other guys about letting you sleep in the bedroom all the time. I was in the wrong. You were right. Please get us out of here, Robot, right now!"

"What?" Crash looked from Commander to Jimmy. 

"Dude," Eaglebones was dumbfounded. Jimmy, however, seemed very pleased. 

"Thank you Commander," He smiled. "Okay, Here's the plan: Ricky, run back to the lab in the tram and grab the green test tube that's right next to the big bowl of blue goop with the tadpoles in it. Bring it back here." Ricky, who had no trouble weaving through hoards of slow shuffling zombies, saluted, and ran off. 

"Now, Eaglebones, when I tell you, direct your lighting into the lights above." Jimmy continued.

"But that'll bring the fixtures down on us!"

"Exactly!" Jimmy nodded. Then he turned to Commander. "Now, Commander, sing." 

"What?" Commander looked at Jimmy. 

"Sing Commander." Jimmy prompted. "The zombies like music." Commander hesitated, but when a zombie opened it's mouth to bite at his outstretched hand he jumped to the mic. He sang loud, his voice shaking from equal amounts of effort and terror. Crash grabbed his base and strummed along to help him keep rhythm and add his own twist to the song. The zombies all stopped to stare. They began to swing as they stood, entranced. 

Ricky came flying back with the test tube. 

"Thank you Ricky." Jimmy nodded. "Now, Eaglebones, when I throw this tube up into the air, shoot at it, and the light fixtures." He then turned to Commander and Crash and shouted "When you see a flash of bright light, drop everything and run for your lives!" Everyone nodded. 

Jimmy counted to three on his fingers, punched a zombie in the face, and threw the tube high into the air. As Eaglebones shot at it there was a hail of sparks from above. Everyone jumped off the stage and ran like madmen, making a dash for the door. As they fought through the heavy crowd, they heard the screams of the zombies behind them. Commander turned to see a shower of green sparks rain down as the lights crashed to the earth. Every zombie in the stadium was being lit with electricity, their bones flashing from beneath their skin. Commander wrinkled his nose and turned around.

Ricky reached the exit first and held the door open for everyone else. They were still running when they made it out to the street. Once in the Battle Tram, Commander shouted for Jimmy to floor it. They were out of Killersville like greased lightning.

Everyone shared breathless high fives and congratulations. 

"Jimmy, what was that stuff you used on those zombies?" Commander asked. "They were lit up green!"

"Well, everyone," Jimmy smiled. "The test tube I had Ricky grab for me had an anti-zombie formula in it, which is always good to have on hand for any occasion." Everyone nodded in agreement. "But there were so many zombies that the formula had to be turned into a plasma and transferred from body to body. So I chose to use electricity, since most bodies are highly conductive. They'll all be waking up in a few hours good as new in their human forms."

Commander wasn't so sure about this, considering how fried the zombies looked when the team baled, but he wasn't about to rain on Jimmy's parade.

"Well I'm not sure if all of that is scientifically correct," Commander noted "But I'm glad we were able to help those people."

"Yeah," Ricky chimed in. "I'm pretty sure if I were a zombie I wouldn't like it very much. You don't get much exercise from just shuffling around. Plus brains are probably suuuuuper high in calories!”

"Thanks guys," Jimmy beamed. 

"But hold on," Eaglebones said. "Commander, didn't you mention something about Jimmy sleeping in the bedroom." 

"Yes, Commander," Jimmy turned to look at him expectantly. "you did mention something about that I recall." Commander shifted uncomfortably in his seat. 

"All right guys," He said finally. "Jimmy has been waiting for weeks for me to bring up that whole 'thing'" he made air-quotations, "about Jimmy getting to sleep in our bedroom only on weekends."

Eaglebones frowned. "But I thought we all had this figured out a long time ago." He said, looking at Jimmy. Jimmy said nothing. This wasn't his battle anymore. It was Commander's turn to take a stand, as much as he hated to do it. 

"We did, Eaglebones, but Jimmy had voiced to me rather frequently that he doesn’t like sleeping in the lab and I know the rest of us are all aware of this fact too." Crash nodded, probably remembering one of Jimmy's rants. Eaglebones looked unimpressed. Commander wasn't doing very well, he had to think fast.

"Basically what I'm trying to say is that our robot friend has helped us out a lot and he can charge at other times because it doesn't take that long so he should be allowed to sit in the rocking chair from now on, are we clear?" He spoke very fast, crossed his arms, and stared out the window. Jimmy nodded his appreciation without looking away from the road. There was a collective groan from the other guys.

"I hate it when Commander makes good points." Eaglebones said to Ricky. 

"Yeah, it makes it harder for us to bicker about trivial things like this." Ricky agreed. Crash nodded. 

"I guess it's cool," Eaglebones said finally. "Just, please don't stare at me while I sleep."

"And no bedtime stories unless they're nice ones." Begged crash. 

"And no more washing the darks with the lights," added Ricky. "Seriously, am I the only guy who knows how to do laundry around here?" 

Jimmy smiled. "I think I can do that, guys." He said. He turned to look at Commander. "Thanks, Commander, for finally speaking up for me." 

Commander looked over at Jimmy's beaming face. He found himself feeling suddenly better. Jimmy's joy must have been contagious. He was feeling happy for Jimmy. 

"Don't mention it, Robot. Now let's find a place to park, I'm exhausted.” He fell back into his seat and closed his eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

Jimmy, despite wanting to read everyone _"The Story of the Man-Eating She-Yetii,"_ was quelled into silence by the rest of the team. The Robot had parked them at a truck-stop gas-station and Crash looked like he was about to start having flashbacks. Everyone said their sleepy goodnights, and Jimmy, with absolute elation written on his face, went into hibernation mode in the rocking chair. 

Commander, once again, found himself having trouble going to sleep. He could hear the Robot's simulated breathing over anyone else's. For weeks Commander had imagined that breath brushing against the back of his neck, or labored from a hard fuck. He had never quite had this issue on the weekends before, but now Jimmy's presence had the essence of permanence to it. The Robot was going to be sleeping in the bedroom from now on.

Commander rolled over and over in bed, trying to find a more comfortable position. Eventually, he dozed off into an odd, half-dream state of mind. He floated in empty space, memories and fantasies roaming in his mind's eye. 

"Do you want me like this, Commander?" Jimmy asked, bent over his laboratory table. "Or would you prefer I just sat on the table?" The Robot bit his lower lip, looking back at Commander and shaking his ass a little. 

Commander's eyes shot open. The room was still dark, and absolutely silent. His cock poked up from his blankets, staring him straight in the face. It had officially become a nightly trend. Commander listened quietly in the dark. Everyone was still sleeping; breathing softly. He crossed his arms and thought. Could he get out of bed with Jimmy snoozing so close? What if the Robot's hibernate decided to malfunction just as he opened the door? It had happened before but... was this something he really wanted to do Jimmy's first night in the bedroom? 

Commander decided to try and ignore his needs for once in favor of Jimmy's. At least for the first night. But, something was wrong. He lay in bed for another hour or so, waiting for his erection to die down. But nothing happened. He tried thinking of unsavory things, such as his grandma naked or Crash in a g-string bikini. The images weren't pretty in the slightest, but his cock remained adamantly erect. The tent in his blankets remained pitched, mocking him. 

Commander realized with astonishment that not only was he going to be unable to sleep, but that waiting for himself to go flaccid on a night when he didn't want to touch himself had suddenly become a near impossibility. Had fantasizing about Jimmy done this to him, or was it because he had decided to touch himself more often?

Whatever the reason, Commander's blue balls were starting to become painful. He was going to have to just give in. He sighed and slowly climbed from his bed. His pants chafed against his cock. He made a sharp intake of breath. 

Commander spent no time looking around. He turned and made his way quickly for the door. He could get this done quickly, he knew he could. And Jimmy wouldn't even have noticed or woken up. He opened the hatch and took a step out into the hallway. The floor was freezing. 

But there was no turning back now. He was almost in the clear. He stepped through the door. 

"Commander, you forgot your slippers." Whispered Jimmy. Commander froze on the spot. Just his luck. Just his darned luck. Why had he even tried? He knew Jimmy would have woken up no matter what. 

"Uh, thanks Robot." He whispered. "I think I'll be okay without them. It's not so cold tonight." 

"No, It's okay Commander, I owe you one." He heard the Robot as he got to his feet and walked over to him. Commander didn't turn around. "Here you go, sir." Jimmy said, nudging Commander's back with the slippers. Commander grabbed them over his shoulder. 

"Uh, thanks Robot." He put them on. Jimmy didn't make a sound. "I'm gonna go now." Commander said after some lapse of silence. He started to walk away. 

"Where are you going?" The robot asked. He stepped through the doorway too, the hatch closing behind him. Now they were alone together in the hallway. Commander bit his lip. 

"I was hungry," he said, thinking fast. "I'm going to go make a sandwich and then come back to bed. It's no big deal. You can go back to sleep, Jimmy."

"Oh, It's okay." Jimmy's voice suddenly sounded kind of happy. "My hibernation cut off about an hour ago, so I've just been running a systems check to try and fix it. But now that you're awake we can hang out while I wait."

"Uh..." Commander said.

"I'll make us both some sandwiches." Said the Robot, putting his hand on Commander's shoulder and walking up beside him. Commander flinched and crossed one leg over the other in a poor attempt to hide his cock.

"Y'know, Jimmy, I just realized that I also have to use the bathroom." He said quickly, and started walking away. Jimmy followed. Commander didn't notice this until he was almost to the bathroom. He looked over his shoulder at his friend. 

"What are you doing, Robot?" He asked, feeling frantic. 

"I was going to wait for you, and then we we can go to the kitchen and make some hip-awesome sandwiches." Jimmy said matter-of-factly.

"Wait?" Commander asked. "You mean just outside the door!?"

"Yes." The Robot nodded. Commander felt his cock twitch. The idea sounded like a set-up for a three-star porno. He could just imagine Jimmy coming into the bathroom, worried about why Commander was moaning so loudly, and then seeing him with his shirt hiked up his chest and his blushing erection in his fist. Commander had no idea how his friend would react to seeing him that way, but a pang in his stomach told him how he wished Jimmy would react.

There wasn't going to be any way out of this. Commander was just going to have to grit his teeth. 

"Uh..." Commander stuttered. "I've just decided I don't have to use the restroom any more. Why don't you go and turn around and head to the kitchen, and I'll follow." 

Jimmy raised an eyebrow, cocking his head to one side. "Are you feeling okay?" He asked. 

"I'm fine." Commander said sharply. "Just, go to the kitchen, man." Jimmy shrugged and turned around. Commander sighed. He reached into his pants and pulled his cock up into the waistband, flattening it loosely to his stomach. It wasn't the best method of hiding, but if he pulled his shirt down far in the front it concealed his dick enough that hopefully Jimmy wouldn't notice. 

Commander shuffled awkwardly to the kitchen. Jimmy had his head in the fridge, pulling out miscellaneous items. There were olives, peanut butter, packets of cheese, and shredded carrots already out on the counter. The Robot had always had weird taste in foods. Commander had attributed this to a mixture of theories, including one that suggested Jimmy may not be able to entirely taste what he was eating. Despite this setback, --or for whatever real reason-- it seemed that Jimmy had a particular soft spot in his heart for eating, especially if it involved sweet things and things with particularly tangy flavors. 

The kitchen took up about a wall of space. There was a serving counter with five bar stools in the middle of the room, next to it on the inside was where the stove was shoved, followed by a dishwasher with shelves above and below up until the fridge, which was wedged in the far corner. 

Commander sat himself stiffly down on the other side of the serving counter just as Jimmy came waltzing up with the remainder of his pillage from the fridge.

"What would you like on your sandwich, Commander?" He asked, surveying the full table with an appreciative expression. Commander had his elbow on the counter with his face half hidden in his hand. He avoided eye contact. 

"Just Baloney," He said. "With cheese and mustard." 

"Any marshmallow fluff?" Jimmy asked, brandishing a knife covered in the stuff. 

"No thanks Jimmy." Commander shook his head, strumming the fingers of his free hand against the counter. The idea of Jimmy licking the marshmallow off the knife had flashed before his eyes. He could just see Jimmy, running his tongue slowly up the flat end of the blade before taking the fluff into his mouth and swallowing. Commander shivered, and bit down on his lip. His cock throbbed against his stomach. Jimmy looked at him. The smile on the robot's face had vanished. He stared at Commander for a moment, then resumed what he was doing. The room suddenly felt heavy. 

Commander wondered if this was karma. Was he being punished for sexualizing Jimmy after all these weeks? He thought he had finally done something right this evening by letting Jimmy sleep in with the gang, but now Commander was greatly regretting his decision. 

The robot was filling his marshmallow sandwich with pickles and raisins. There was a stiffness in his movements that hadn't been there a moment ago. Commander felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. Jimmy was upset. Why was he upset?

"Here's your sandwich, Sir." Jimmy set Commander's ham and cheese in front of him. It was on a paper towel and cut diagonally with no crust. Commander frowned at it. "Something wrong?" Jimmy asked coolly. He tried to look his superior in the eye, but wasn't given any gratification. With a huff, he returned to stacking potato chips onto his pickles and raisins. 

Commander just stared at the sandwich. It was outrageous. Absolutely outrageous that Jimmy would cut the crust off like that. He didn't even remember telling the Robot he liked his sandwiches that way, but there it was, staring him in the face. 

Why did Jimmy have to be so darn nice? There was Commander on the other side of the table with a raging hard-on, and there was that Robot, the reason for his hard on, making him a sandwich and cutting the crust off. This had to be the universe telling him something. This was just plain torture. What did Jimmy want from him? Why was he doing this?

And just when he thought it couldn't get worse, Jimmy slapped his sandwich closed, walked around the table, and plopped himself down right next to Commander. The demons of the underworld must have been crying with laughter. 

"I think I've made a winner if I do say so myself," Jimmy smiled before biting into his abomination of a sandwich. He glanced sideways at Commander, who grunted, not even bothering to turn and look.

Jimmy chewed silently for a moment while Commander's brain was making its rapid ascent into overdrive. The Robot put his sandwich down slowly. 

"Commander," He said. Commander tensed. 

"Hm?" He grunted. Jimmy frowned. 

"I was wondering, sir, if you wouldn't mind telling me what the heck has got your goats."

There was a long lapse of silence. Commander didn't know what to say. What could he say? He couldn't think of anything to get out of the situation he was too distracted. There was a sandwich in front of him, an agitated Jimmy next to him, and about twenty steps to the doorway.

Jimmy being in this close of a proximity to him was practically nauseating. He thought he could almost feel the heat off Jimmy's body. His cock was so hard it hurt. He just wanted to go. Why couldn't Jimmy have just left him alone so he could go touch himself in peace and not have to endure this painful situation? 

Commander looked down at his sandwich. There was only one way out of this. 

"Goats!?" He said finally, waving his hand and still not looking at Jimmy. "There aren't any goats, Robot. And if there were, nobody would have mine. Nope. Everything is perfectly fine. I was just observing this incredibly well-made sandwich. Kudos Jimmy, really, It's fantastic." He picked a piece up and held it in front of his face a few moments, trying to look as if he was really appreciating Jimmy's handiwork. Really, he was just bracing himself for what he was about to do. 

Commander started to shove his sandwich into his mouth like a champion at a hot dog eating contest. He barely chewed, trying to swallow large chunks at once. Jimmy watched him in horrified fascination as he swallowed, gagged a little, chewed, and then swallowed some more. The sandwich was gone in seconds. 

Jimmy stood up almost immediately, looking stern. "Would you like a drink, Commander?" He asked. It was a question for sure, but it sounded more like an order. Commander coughed. Jimmy had never really been a very intimidating person, but this was very new, and kind of hot. He had to get out of there, fast. 

"Uh, no thanks Robot!" Commander stood up facing the door. "I've just decided that I actually do have to use the bathroom, so I'm gonna go now. Don't wait up, Jimmy!" he made to dash for the door, sweet freedom was only a few bounds away and he'd be home free. Bathroom time would never feel more gratifying. 

SLAM!

Jimmy had smacked his metal hands hard against the counter. Commander stopped in his tracks. What was this?

"Commander." Jimmy's voice was low and very serious.

"Yes Robot?" He asked. His voice was a little higher pitched than he had meant it to be.

"Commander," Jimmy said again. "I would have thought after today you would have learned something about avoiding confrontation." 

_Oh no..._ Commander chewed on his lower lip and wrung his hands together. His cock had freed itself from his waistband when he jumped up from his chair. It stuck nearly straight out from his body and was throbbing painfully through his pants. 

"Robot, I don't know what you're talking about." Commander tried to sound nonchalant. "Listen, I've really got to go so--"

"Why, where are you going?" Commander heard Jimmy's footsteps coming quickly. He panicked then and started running. 

"Commander!" Jimmy shouted right into his ears. Commander felt a cold hand clamp around his forearm, pulling him back, hard. Jimmy whirled him around.

"Why won't you look-- _oh..._ " Jimmy stared.

Commander felt his face getting hot. Embarrassment? Sure. Shame? Most likely. There it was, all out in the open. And there was Jimmy, looking at his cock with a face as white as a sheet. It was like time had suddenly frozen. 

"I'd like to go now, if you don't mind." Said Commander in a low voice. Jimmy looked at him, stricken. 

"I..." Jimmy stuttered. "I'm... Sorry... " He let go of Commander's arm. They stared at each other. Commander was sure he had gone the color of a swedish fish. Jimmy, on the other hand, seemed to be recovering from a mild shock and was about as pasty as the marshmallow in his sandwich. 

Finally, Jimmy seemed to find his voice. He coughed.

"You know, If you had just told me you needed to use the bathroom to masturbate I would have just left you alone." 

Commander's mouth fell open. How could he have possibly known that Jimmy even knew what masterbation was? And how could a thing like that have ever occurred to him when he felt like his balls were going to explode? Commander was absolutely bewildered. 

After several long moments of thinking, Commander decided to say something.

"It's not that easy to explain." He said slowly. 

"You wouldn't have had to explain anything more than _that._ " Said Jimmy. He looked pointedly look at Commander's pitched tent. Commander felt his cock give a huge twitch. He couldn't help it. He was so far gone it was becoming hard to tell up from down. He needed release.

The Robot's expression froze. "Unless..." he mumbled to himself. Commander didn't like that look. He could feel the pressure in the room rising as though they were hundreds of miles underwater. He couldn't keep standing here. Whatever Jimmy was thinking, it could wait. The shame could wait. The guilt could wait. 

He made for the door. 

"Commander," Jimmy said quietly. Commander froze in midstep, gritting his teeth together. "Were you hiding for a reason?" The Robot asked. 

Commander turned to look at Jimmy. The Robot didn't have his arms crossed as what would have been expected. Instead he looked passive, almost tired. 

Suddenly, Commander felt as though there was another question behind the one Jimmy had asked. It wasn't about whether or not Commander had something to hide. It was about whether or not he was going to buckle down and stop avoiding situations simply because they made him uncomfortable. 

Jimmy was asking whether or not he was a sissy. 

And, in his second lapse of judgement that evening, Commander decided to wing it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been moving around a lot lately. Haven't had a chance to post. When I hit chapter eight that's when I'm actually going to have to start typing. I like to stay at least one chapter ahead but I may fall short.

* * *

Commander, listening to his cock and not his head, stood on his toes, tilted his head up, and kissed Jimmy.

Jimmy's skin was warmer than his hands. Nothing about his lips felt synthetic, except the fact that they had frozen against Commander's. Commander had frozen also; waiting. He wasn't exactly sure what he was waiting for. The realization of what he had just done was starting to set in and he felt like a cold stone had dropped in the pit of his stomach. 

When Jimmy continued to stand stock-still Commander pulled away. He felt all the shame he had been holding back for weeks about to boil over in his head. THIS was NOT keeping Jimmy only in his mind. This was involving himself with Jimmy for real. Commander had spent so many weeks pretending that Jimmy was just as needy as he was, he had made himself delusional. But he wasn't going to avoid confrontation anymore. He had been doing it for weeks and it had already hurt Jimmy enough. So he stood, adamantly facing Jimmy, feeling the back of his neck burn with embarrassment. 

Jimmy had his eyebrows narrowed. He seemed to be thinking hard. Commander could almost see pistons and gears cranking behind his eyes.

The robot cleared his throat. "That's not really a very good explanation." He said quietly. Commander shook his head.

"M'sorry," he muttered. Jimmy seemed to ignore this.

"What was that?" he asked, touching his lips with his hand. "I mean, I am not unfamiliar with physical signs of affection but..." He seemed to be at a loss for words. He looked really confused. His mouth was half open, his cheeks had tinted pink, and the Bat Commander felt a new wave of pity and guilt roll over in his stomach.

"Commander," Jimmy said finally, clasping his hands on his superior's shoulders. "What the heck _was_ that?"

Commander mulled this question over in his mind before responding, "You asked me to be honest with you, and I'm not a sissy."

This did not seem to help Jimmy much. The mouth that had been hanging open was now opening and closing like a fish. Every time Jimmy seemed to be on the verge of saying something he would open his mouth, pause with his eyebrows knit together, and then slap his jaw shut again. It would have been funny if Commander hadn't been wallowing in self-pity. Neither of them really seemed to be able to explain what exactly had just happened, only that it had happened.

Commander grabbed at the metal hands on his shoulders and lowered them. As he let go they went limp at Jimmy's sides. 

"Listen," He said, mustering up his courage.

"No, you listen." Jimmy said sharply, raising a finger. He finally had managed to form a coherent sentence, and it was cold. Commander snapped his mouth shut.

"Your dishonesty, reckless behavior, and incredible knack for procrastination has been a pain in my neck for a pretty long time. This, whatever this is," Jimmy gestured to the standing lump that was Commander. "It's apparently been going on for weeks." He grabbed the bridge of his nose and pinched. "Sir, for the past few months I have seen you make your commute to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Albeit only on weekends but it wasn't difficult to figure that you went frequently. I just sort of thought to myself, I don't know, maybe you had some kind of medical issue going on. But, it was your business and there was nothing about it that seemed to be affecting your behavior. And I thought if there was any serious issue you would talk to me or someone about it. But... That night, after we defeated those submarine pirates, something sort of changed about you... You stayed away from me, and fidgeted around me, and I thought It was just because you wanted to avoid confrontation about the sleeping arrangements... But then right now..." He trailed off, looking full into Commander's face.

Again Commander was at a loss for words. Jimmy had noticed all of that? But then again, could he really have expected anything less from a Robot? But Jimmy couldn't always piece a puzzle together correctly. He had all the details and logical speculation, but lacked a certain amount of imagination to be able to factor in the kiss. 

"You've been my best friend for a super long time..." Jimmy said, looking into Commander's eyes. "I don't have much of a clue what is going on and the clues I do have are unsettling."

"Why are they unsettling?" Commander asked, blanching. If Jimmy had had too much he was going to say it, and there would be the end. Jimmy might leave and they would have to find a new keyboardist, or worse, with Jimmy gone the team might just fall apart. It would be Chainsaw all over again. And the MC Bat Commander would be even lonelier than he was before.

"I think you just need to explain things to me better, sir." Jimmy said sighing. "You know, use your words?" Commander bit his lip. Jimmy rubbed at the back of his head.

"Here," he said. "Listen to this for a second." The robot pulled Commander into a tight hug, wrapping his metal arms over Commander's shoulders. Commander tried to push the lower half of his body away so his half-mass cock wouldn't rub against Jimmy's leg.

"Robot" He fidgeted. "What-"

"Shh!" Jimmy squeezed harder. "Just listen for a second." They stood there in the quiet. Jimmy had his arms linked so tight there was no hope for escape. And then Commander heard it. It was a muffled ticking noise, and underneath of it was a low, single-note thud. It was similar to a heartbeat only instead of going "thump-bump" it just went "thump," and it was thumping really fast.

"What's that noise?" Commander asked. Some wires were beginning to come together into the back of his brain.

"The ticking sound is my internal clock," Jimmy replied. "My body uses it to tell night from day so I have similar resting cycles to you guys. But the thumping sound..." Jimmy's arms loosened. "That one is harder to explain, but... it's like a heart. And normally its rhythm is much, much slower than what it is now." His arms went slack as he released Commander. They looked at each other for a long time. Commander was beginning to feel a bubble of happiness. Jimmy looked torn.

"I'm not one for imagination, Commander." He said. "I don't exactly dream and I don't normally see made-up images flash behind my eyes. Things are simpler that way. But this has made things a bit less simple for me. I've always loved you, just like I've loved all the other guys. But your behavior around me, and then what you just did... I'm mostly pretty confused. I thought you were starting to hate me but then you change your mind." He rubbed the back of his head with his hand. "I guess what I'm asking is what do you want from me?"

Commander blinked. He knew he couldn't stop himself from saying it.

"You."

Jimmy frowned. "But what does that mean? You want to have sex with me?"

Commander ran a hand over his face and nodded. "It sort of happened by accident, but it happened and now..." He looked down at his crotch. "It's been a while since I've been with anyone, Robot, and you just popped into my head one night. It really started out just for fun since I was having trouble sleeping. But, you... I don't know, Robot. It just happened. You just happened. And now when I look at you it's never in the same way it was before, even though I thought it wasn't going to be a problem. So there, I used my words. Everything just kind of sucks."

The Robot's face twisted, then he laughed.  
"You look like your cat is stuck in a tree," Jimmy smiled at his superior's shocked face. "I'm sorry. It was funny. Everything does suck. I don't like this at all. You've been avoiding me all these weeks and then you kiss me, admit that you've been having sexual fantasies about me, and... I think maybe you admitted to having a crush on me? Do you expect me to give you some kind of solid answer about how exactly we're supposed to handle this? Because, I really don't know Commander." He put his hands on Commander's shoulders. "I just want us to be close again. Because this has been dramatic even for you."

Commander nodded. "I'm sorry Jimmy. I haven't been treating you right at all."

"No," Jimmy replied. "You haven't." They stared at each other.

Jimmy leaned down, and pecked Commander on the lips. Commander jumped. Jimmy smiled again. "Sorry, Commander." He said. "The first one gave me a weird feeling and I wanted to see if I could replicate it." He looked up at the ceiling.

"Hmm..." He contemplated, closing his eyes. "That is just plain weird. But... I think that I like it." He nodded to himself, completely ignoring Commander, whose mouth was slung open. When the Robot finally seemed to notice him, Jimmy's smile faltered.

"Oh, Commander, I..." he put a hand to his chin. “I’m sorry. I guess I've sort of been keeping you from finishing your personal business." He looked pointedly down at Commander's cock. Commander looked too, and gave embarrassed smile. He scratched at the back of his neck.

"Well," he said, "I gotta be honest, Jimmy. After this big talk I don't know how to feel about it anymore. I want to go. In fact I probably need to because I won't sleep otherwise. But I know that If I do... well... It'll just be of you again and..." He felt his face getting hot. It was very difficult for him to try and explain the issue. He was going to have to go touch himself, but now that Jimmy knew... would he be able to finish with that thought in his head?

Jimmy blinked. "Do you know why you can't sleep?"

Commander shook his head. "No. I just know masturbating is pretty much the only thing that helps. That's why I make myself get out of bed. I don't like to but... It's just been happening." He shrugged. "I've just been a bit run down, Robot. I haven't really had sex in the past five years."

"Since your relationship with Jack?" Jimmy asked. Commander nodded.

All the guys on the team had dated a few people on and off over the years. Aquabats came and went and so did their lovers. Jimmy was an ever-present bystander in these affairs. It was one of the primary reasons why Commander was never quite sure if Jimmy had even known what sex was. Jimmy had never actually been in a relationship, or seemed to have any desire to pursue one.

"So you miss sex?" Jimmy asked. Commander bit his upper lip. It wasn't just that simple.

"It's more just like..." Commander fidgeted "Like missing the body of another person. I like sex, yeah. And I miss it. But I miss the company too." He looked up at Jimmy. "I'm getting up there, Robot. In years I mean. Sooner or later I'm going to be over the hill. I've worked so hard all these years. I've been living the dream doing gigs, fighting crime, teaching kids, and saving cats. But sometimes I wonder..." He stopped talking. He felt uncomfortable for spewing his guts out to Jimmy. The Robot retained his quizzical expression, but after a long lapse of silence it was clear that Jimmy was not going to ask Commander to finish his sentence, and for that Commander was grateful.

"I think you are making this more complicated than it needs to be." Jimmy said simply. "Which is interesting because I don't think I've known you to ever overthink anything." Commander blinked. Jimmy put his hand on his superior's shoulder and gave him something that was almost a smile.

"Sir, I told you I can't just give you a straight answer about all of this." Jimmy continued "It's like some new side of you I've never really seen before. I'm not particularly disturbed to find that you have been masturbating to me, just mostly surprised. I feel as though we both may need some time think about things, or at the very least I will. But there is little question in my mind about my affections towards you."

Commander nodded dumbly. He knew there wouldn't really be anything for him to think out. He knew what he wanted. But it was the knowledge that Jimmy would probably not want the same thing that made things difficult. Commander knew he was being insensitive when he started to think about how frustrating it would be for him to try and avoid visions of Jimmy while he touched himself from now on. Jimmy certainly deserved better than him, and he told Jimmy so.

"I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'what I deserve'" Jimmy smiled. "I'm perfectly fine functioning only on platonic affection. Which is why I said I have a few things I need to think out." Then his face became serious. "Commander, is sexual release really the only thing that helps you?"

"Pretty much." Commander replied. "Why?"

Jimmy looked pointedly down at his dick, biting his lower lip. A lightbulb went off in Commander's brain. He felt a rush of excitement, followed by a pang of anxiety.

"Jimmy," he started "You don't have to-"

"I know you can do it yourself, sir." Jimmy said, offering a gentle smile. "But I know what you'd be thinking about and that doesn't sit right with me, not if I know I can be of some assistance... among other reasons..." His last words were more to himself. Commander stared at him. 

"Let me help you, Commander. I did like the kiss after all." Jimmy waggled an eyebrow. Commander could find nothing to say. It was like there was a pure, white glow emanating from Jimmy, and angelic wings sprouting from his back.

He grabbed at the Robot's cold hand and practically skipped them over to the barstool. Jimmy smiled along, but it was obvious he seemed a little tense. Commander leaned his back and elbows along the counter, spreading his legs wide. The MC's cock was still half hard. Jimmy planted a hand on the counter. The Robot's other hand tugged gingerly at the pajama waistband. He clamped hard around Commander's cock, too hard, and it was all The MC could do not to swear.

"Ahh- Jimmy, loosen up a bit would'ja?" He reached his left hand forward to grab at the Robot's forearm. Jimmy's hand went slack. It was clear all of this was very new to him. He gingerly tried to stroke up and down but it only resulted in chaffing the shaft. Somehow this was less sexy than Commander had anticipated.

"Let go for a second," he said finally, biting his lip. Jimmy's cold hands were not the ideal tools for a handjob. They had less traction than skin and were... well... metal. He narrowed his eyebrows and brought Jimmy's hand up to his mouth, letting the flat of his tongue slide from the butt of the robot's palm up to the tips of his fingers. If he could just slick them up a little; warm them.

"Oh..." Jimmy sighed, his eyelids fluttering. Commander looked up at his friend in surprise. How could he feel that? Gently, he let his tongue slide between cold, metal fingers before taking a pair of them fully into his mouth. He sucked, pressing the flat of his tongue up against them. He was gratified with the sight of Jimmy's flushed cheeks. The robot bit his lip as he watched Commander's tongue stroke up and down his hand, lathering it it with saliva. When Commander finally pulled away, Jimmy's lidded eyes were still on him. His face had gotten even pinker and his lips were parted.

He looked fantastic. Commander's cock gave a hard throb. Jimmy wasn't just emotionally sensitive. It seemed as though there might be a myriad of potential for the two of them. Ideas began swimming about rapidly in Commander's head. His tongue darted out over his lips.

He let go of the Robot's hand.

"Don't tug," he said, placing Jimmy's hand on his cock. "Just let it roll... ah..." The robot has wasted no time in learning. He slid his hand up and down the shaft gently, squeezing lightly. The Robot looked up into Commander's face; his eyes scrutinizing every move Commander made. God, why did Jimmy have to look at him like that with a hand on his cock? He went back to bracing both his elbows against the counter. His toes curled around the rungs of his stool through his slippers.

"Jimmy," He felt the name rise up in a moan. "Jimmy, can you squeeze just a- oh god..." He felt himself going cross-eyed. Jimmy had his eyebrows narrowed in concentration. He put his other hand on Commander's knee and leaned in. Commander could feel the heat off the Robot's body.

How long had it been since someone had touched him like this? Too long, that was for sure. Jimmy was obviously no expert on giving a hand-job, but this touch... The friction between them warmed the Robot's palm, and when he slid down the shaft the cold edge of his hand made contact with Commander's balls. It was like a little shock of electricity every time it happened. He was getting close, so close.

Commander brought a hand down to wrap around Jimmy's, who had not taken his eyes away from Commander's face. There was no doubt in his mind that he probably looked completely debauched. He was having trouble getting his eyes to focus. His breath was ragged.

Commander's hand guided Jimmy's, tightening his grip, tugging in the odd direction, mashing his thumb over the head. It was dirty, and picking up speed. Commander concentrated on their moving hands, his mouth slack. Jimmy just gazed on, his mind seemingly working in two parts. One part was working his hand over Commander's prick, the other part was focused on the rest of Commander's body. Jimmy looked at him with the same flushed and curious fascination a boy would look at his first porn video. It was one part embarrassing and two parts hot as hell.

And then the MCBC was coming with those same eyes on him. He let out a strangled whine and arched his head back. Commander's entire body tensed up. His hand clenched tightly around Jimmy's

When his body had finally relaxed and there were enough thoughts in his head to remember where he was. He looked down to see his hand and Jimmy's still wrapped gently around his softening cock. Jimmy stared curiously up at him.

Commander let go and adjusted himself, Jimmy averted his gaze and began to avidly study the cum on his hand. Commander noticed this and looked down at his own hand. It was a sticky mess, as were his pants.

"I don't think I've ever seen you look anything like that before." Jimmy said, still holding his hand aloft and looking over at the MC. There was a blushing look of wonder on his face. Commander smirked and grabbed the Robot's shirt collar, pulling him down into a kiss. It was a sloppy kiss; all lips, and spit, and tongue that didn't know where to put itself. When they broke apart both were out of breath.

"I think I like that a lot," Jimmy managed, dazed. Commander smiled.

"That was a thank-you, Robot," he said. "Now let's go to bed before Ricky thinks we decided to go midnight jogging without him or something." He wiped his hand on his pant leg. He would have to take a shower in the morning anyway and he was too tired to clean up properly. He stood up, stumbling slightly. His legs were shaking.

"You can wipe your hand off on my Pajamas if you want." Commander told Jimmy passively. Jimmy looked at him for a moment, then wiped his hand on his own shirt.  



	7. Chapter 7

* * *

"Crash, what is that thing on the couch?" Eaglebones pointed at a disheveled and furry lump sitting on the cushions. It quavered for a moment, raised its head, and let out something halfway between a bark and a cough.

"I went to the pound this morning and adopted a dog." Crashed smiled, petting the animal on its head. I was brown and greying around the muzzle. The ears were floppy and the tail was short, but other than those defining featers there was no hint at the breed.

"Crash," Eaglebones was exasperated. "Dude, I mean he's cute and all, but what made you think we could afford a dog?"

Crash frowned. "It's a she. And you said it yourself, none of the old dogs get families! So I got this one a family."

"Crash, think about this, really. We need to take her back."

"No way!" Crash's eyebrows narrowed. "She's not going back in the pen, do you know what they do to dogs like her there?"

"uhh... Feed him?" Bones pressed his hands to his hips.

"No!" Crash bellowed. "They'll put her down!" His face was beginning to color. His body swelled until he was a good two feet taller than his average height. His head was at dangerous risk of hitting the ceiling. "I'm making a difference." He growled between his teeth."

"Woah Crash," Eaglebones held up his hands. "Cool your jets big guy."

Ricky, sporting a towel over his shoulders and sweat stains under his armpits, bounced into the living room.

"Got in a good run this morning guys!" He beamed. "You both should come and join me some- Hey!" His eyes fell on the brown, wheezing heap of a dog lying on the couch. He sprang at it, falling to his knees and petting every inch of the animal he could reach.

"Where did you guys find this little guy?" Ricky laughed. "He's so cute." Crash and Eaglebones watched as the dog started licking at Ricky's fingers. A small smile crept across Crash's lips. He shrank.

"It's a she," Crashed announced, "I got her from the dog shelter up the street. She was in a cage all by herself so I took her in. She's a lot better than a cat!"

"Cool." Ricky exclaimed.

"You can't be serious," Eaglebones groaned.

"Why?" Ricky looked over at him.

"We can't just take in a dog!" Bones was beside himself. "She's a big responsibility."

"But you've got a pet Falcon." Ricky pointed out.

"A magical spirit Falcon that doesn't need food!”

"But I've seen you feed her cheese puffs!"

"You can't see The Dude."

"But I can watch cheese puffs in your hand disappear!"

The door against the back wall slid open. Jimmy strolled in. Crash had been sitting in frustrated silence while Ricky and Eaglebones bickered. The moment he saw the robot, he got an idea.

"Jimmy!" He called.

Jimmy looked over and Crash immediately recoiled. Jimmy had wandered into the room with no shirt on, which had been unusual, but not as unusual as the expression on Jimmy's face. Jimmy looked... tired, for lack of a better word. Though he was a robot, he had managed to grow purple circles under his eyes. His shoulders slouched, and his lips were pursed.

"Mmmm?" He asked.

"Uhh..." Crash stuttered. The other two men had stopped arguing to look up as well. "You do math really well right?" He asked.

Jimmy nodded. "And science."

"And our bills and taxes!" Ricky piped up, catching on.

"Yeah, right" Crash nodded. "Do you know if we could afford to have a dog?"

Jimmy blinked, then his eyes fell onto the animal sitting on the couch. His eyebrows went up immediately.

"Where did you-"

"Can we afford a dog?" Crash asked again. "Please?"

Jimmy frowned, then pressed a finger to his temple. As his eyes lit up a fluorescent blue he said "Estimated costs at maintaining a sixth party in our group goes over budget."

"I told you guys!" Eaglebones pointed a finger.

"But," Jimmy continued "If we cut back on some things we may be able to afford it, if it's something you really want to do."

"What kind of cutbacks?" Asked Ricky.

"Somebody has to stop buying rare collectible Gloopy Monster action figures online." Jimmy prompted, narrowing his eyebrows. "Our internet browsing history is ripe with these purchases."

"Done!" Crash cried, picking up the dog from the couch. It went limp in his arms, smiling and panting. "I'm gonna go give her a bath!" He bounded for the door.

"Hey wait, I want to help!" Ricky called, running after him.

Jimmy watched them go before moving towards the big table in the middle of the room. Eaglebones had thrown himself down on the couch in a huff.

"Do you not like dogs?" Jimmy asked him. Eaglebones was quiet for a minute, then:

"No, they're not my bread and butter, Jimmy."

"Why is that?"

Bones seemed hesitant to say anything. "My aunt had a dog that was pretty mean." He admitted. "It knocked me down a lot when I was a kid. I got bit once. They just make me uncomfortable"

"You were very young at the time." Jimmy noted. "And that animal is incredibly old, Eaglebones. I don't think it will try to harm you. I would try telling Crash and Ricky how you really feel about it. I think they would understand." Jimmy sat down at the table in his usual spot. He leaned down, and began shifting things underneath.

Eaglebones watched him quietly. Jimmy sat back up, brandishing a hard drive with a USB chord sticking out.

"You seem a little out of it, man." Bones noted.

"I have a lot of interesting things on my mind," Jimmy mused. He lifted up his anti-negativity helmet and tugged at the back of his head. It collapsed, revealing a series of flashing LED lights and several ports for everything from headphones to telephone chords. The robot rubbed at the back of his noggin until he found the USB port and promptly plugged in the external hard drive.

"What are you doing?" Bones asked, his eyes fixed onto the back of Jimmy's head. He'd seen Jimmy do this before, but it still kind of creeped him out.

"I'm transferring some recently acquired data out of my mind and onto this device." Jimmy gave a small smile. "I'm having trouble analyzing some issues in my mind, everything seems really crowded right now."

"So you’re moving it to look at it better?" Eaglebones' eyes widened. "Dude, that's like Dumbledore in Harry Potter!"

"What?" Jimmy frowned at him.

"Uh.. nevermind, Jimmy." Eaglebones looked away and started fishing around the couch cushions. Jimmy leaned forward on the table and rested his face in his hands.

"Ah-ha!" Bones produced the T.V. remote. "Do you care if I watch some TV, Jimmy?"

"No, I'll watch some with you." Jimmy turned his head to face the screen. His lips were still stretched into a very tight line. He narrowed his eyebrows at the screen, but didn't seem to be concentrating on what he was watching.

* * *

Commander woke up feeling pretty great actually, thanks for asking. He hopped down from his bunk, stretched, and saw Jimmy's cum-stained shirt lying underneath his rocking chair. Commander felt his face get a little hot. Jimmy must have abandoned it and went out to get breakfast without it. That must have been embarrassing. All of Jimmy's clothes were in his lab.

Commander snatched it up and set it on his bed, then he got dressed. His own pajamas weren't much better off than Jimmy's shirt.

He noticed everyone else had already gotten out of bed. He checked the clock on the wall. It was past noon. He had slept like a baby for more than ten hours. Good God, that's what Jimmy did for him. He bit his lip.

Jimmy... Jimmy probably wasn't very happy.

"I feel as though we both may need some time think about things, or at the very least I will..."

The robot's words echoed in his ears. He let his hand drag down his face. Jimmy was perfect; perfect for everything Commander needed. But what if the Robot said no? What if he decided he was going to continue on being that reliable platonic friend?

Of course, Commander would have to respect that choice. He couldn't make himself force Jimmy to do anything. But... If Jimmy was going to cut him off cold turkey after that crazy night of mixed signals... Commander didn't know what he would do.

He let out a shaky sigh, trying to let the thought pass from his mind. He would just have to figure things out as they went. That's what he always did, in any case.

He gathered up the dirty laundry and made his way to the utility room. As he walked down the hall he passed by the bathroom. The door had been left wide open. Ricky and Crash were giggling inside like a pair of school kids. Commander popped his head in to check out the commotion.

There was a soggy looking... dog? Sitting in the tub. It panted and let its tongue lawl out as Ricky and Crash worked their fingers over it, shampooing its fur.

"What's that thing in the tub, a furry alien?" Commander stepped into the bathroom. The smell of wet dog hung in the air.

"Oh, hey Commander." Ricky waved a soapy hand. "It's a dog! Crash adopted her because of the sad thing Eaglebones told him the other day."

"The thing about the old dogs not getting adopted while we were about to be eaten by zombies?" Commander scratched his chin.

"Yup." Crash nodded. "I just picked her up this morning and now we're giving her a bath."

"The best spa treatment in town." Said Ricky.

The two grown men then proceeded to talk at the dog in quavering voices; complimenting her and making kissing noises. The dog looked about has happy as a pig in a mud puddle. It licked at their wet hands, sneezing occasionally.

Commander couldn't help but smile. He held his hand out to pet it.

"Can we afford a dog?" He asked.

"Yeah, no problem." Crash nodded. "It's worth it." He muttered under his breath.

"We haven't picked out a name yet," Ricky said, pawing at the dog. "I wanted to call her Taniqua Teacup."

"Which sounds dumb," Crash rolled his eyes. "Sasha Pink Pearl is ten times better."

Ricky and Crash immediately started to bicker. Commander grinned and made his way for the door.

"It's a shame she's not a boy," he said "I always liked the name Luis for a dog."

Ricky and Crash turned in surprise to watch Commander's back disappear down the hallway.

Commander saw that the basket in the laundry room was overflowing with blue shirts, white socks, and black cargo shorts. He took it upon himself to load the laundry, throwing all colors into the wash without discrimination, including his own pajamas. He reached up to grab the detergent and caught a whiff of his underarms. Last night had been pretty intense.

He made plans to take a shower after breakfast, and was liberal with the detergent. The MC leaned against the washing machine as it hummed to life. He was naked save for a pair of stained underwear. He hadn't considered bringing a backup of clothes.

Jimmy came to mind again. Somewhere in the tram there was a robotic man walking around shirtless. The thought elicited a series of images in his mind, many of them dirty. His cock twitched.

What was wrong with him? He supposed he should just stop being surprised. If his body decided it wanted to start acting like it was fifteen again then he should probably just let it. He wasn't going to get any younger anyway, and if that robot made him feel young... well... He figured he could overcome the small shame that was the chub he was now sporting.

He stood in the utility room for a bit longer to settle himself down before going back to the bedroom and change.

On Commander's way back down the hall he passed the laboratory and stepped into it with purpose.

On one side of the room, desks lined the walls, on them were odds and ends organized into boxes, shiny clean beakers, and a large collection of car batteries from varying models of sports cars. On another wall was a series of shelves that held bright chemicals and goos. There was a double-cylinder motorcycle engine sitting on a towel on the floor surrounded by wrenches, wires, plugs, and dirty rags. In the center of the room was obviously some kind of chemical experiment involving a jar containing what looked like a human hand. And, in the very far corner of the room, was Jimmy's charging pod and locker. The locker was tall with the door left ajar.

Inside the locker were five lab coats, five sets of safety goggles on the top shelf, two pairs of sneakers on the bottom shelf with socks stuffed into each one, and two pairs of pants, two shirts, and some underwear on a middle shelf just below the lab coats. Everything was neatly folded and very clean, much like the rest of the room. These articles of clothing were all that Jimmy owned.

Commander had peered into the locker many times, and every time he did it made him feel a little depressed. But it was Jimmy's choice. The robot liked having fewer things to take care of. It made things easier to organize.

The MC grabbed a change of clothes and left the lab, turning out the lights behind him.

* * *

Eaglebones flipped through channels about as fast as his thumb would allow him. His brown eyes shone gold as his eaglevision peered at each show when it flashed across the screen, occasionally stopping on a channel of particular interest for a few seconds before changing again. This was Eaglebones' preferred method of watching TV. Jimmy wasn't paying much attention, not only that, but he was the only one who could keep up with Eaglebone's enhanced eyesight and short attention span.

Jimmy let out a long sigh amidst the jumble of sound that was being emitted from the television. He scratched idly at the back of his head, yawned, and bent forward to rest his buzzing head against the cool tabletop.

The door slid open at the back of the room and Commander stepped in. He surveyed the area. Eaglebones was doing his TV-Bird thing that everyone hated, and Jimmy was sitting at the table, shirtless, and looking completely exhausted. He had his hard drive hooked up, which was something he only did when he was in really deep thought. Commander took one look at his slumped form against the table and frowned.

He knew Jimmy was thinking, about what Commander wasn't sure. Commander himself had done little thinking. Everything had passed before his eyes as he had fallen asleep last night. He worried about how their relationship would continue now that Jimmy knew the whole story. He worried about how this news would affect their friendship, and how it would affect the band. He also worried about what exactly Jimmy might be going through emotionally.

As these thoughts passed through his mind he let them go, one by one. He wasn't like Jimmy, not in any sense of the word. He didn't like to think and stew on things. Action was simply Commander's course of action. He knew what he wanted. He would wait for Jimmy's word and let everything fall into place. It was easier to live outside his brain than in it.

But he knew that Jimmy's opinions on that kind of thing were completely opposite, and he was going to have to respect Jimmy's need for time and personal space.

He tiptoed over to the table, placed Jimmy's clothes next to his head, and crept back out of the room without a word; making for the kitchen.

As he left, he passed by the bathroom again. Crash and Ricky were blow drying the dog. It looked considerably better clean. Its greying fur seemed fluffier, and it panted happily as the two men crooned at her. Commander grinned in spite of himself.

Eaglebones switched off the TV, muttering about nothing being on. Jimmy blinked and took a deep breath, he felt like he was coming out of a trance. The tabletop was warm from where his head had been whirring against it. The Robot sat up, unplugged the hard drive, and noticed the pile of clothes sitting on the table. He blinked.

Upon further inspection, the clothes were definitely his. He looked around at Eaglebones, who was invading the mini fridge in the corner for a soda-pop.

"Did you get these for me, Eaglebones?" Jimmy asked, brandishing the shirt.

"Get what?" Bones looked up. "Oh, the shirt? No, I didn't. I heard someone walk in a little bit ago. I think it was Commander." He popped the tab on his drink, took a sip, and headed for the door. "I'm going outside for a little while, I'll see you later, Jimmy. Hope your thinking works out."

"Yeah..." Sighed Jimmy, not taking his eyes from the shirt. He rolled his thumbs over it, massaging the fabric, and thought some more. 

* * *

Ricky popped the top hatch on the Tram and poked his head out into the sun.

"Hey, there you are!" He grinned, and climbed up to sit next to Eaglebones on the roof.

"Oh, hey." Eaglebones shuffled over to allow his buddy some room. "What's up Ricky?"

"I've just been looking for you," The Aquabat rested his hands on his knees and looked at Eaglebones, who didn't return the gaze. "You've been gone for like, two hours now.” Ricky continued, “And I thought you might be mad at me or Crash. I know how you feel about the dog and everything. But you won't even know she's around. Cheese Louise is pretty quiet."

Eaglebones wrinkled his nose. "Cheese Louise?"

"Yeah, like 'Jeeze, Louise!' only with Cheese. It was the only name Crash and I could agree on. Commander actually thought of the Louise part, sort of."

"Oh" Bones looked up at the clouds, then laughed. "That's a pretty great name, actually.” The he sighed. “Look, Rick, I'm not mad at you guys but... I guess I'm just kind of scared of dogs so-"

"No kidding?" Ricky raised his eyebrows. "Sorry about that, Eaglebones. If you had said something-"

"I should've," nodded Bones "But it is kind of embarrassing."

"Yeah, I get it. But…" Ricky frowned. “You were the one who told Crash about the sad old dogs.”  
“Well yeah,” Bones said. “Cuz it was sad. Even if dogs freak me out it’s not going to stop me feeling sad about them.”  
“Oh.” Ricky rubbed his chin. “I think I get it.”  
“Love is key for Rock and Roll.”  
“Good point.”  
The two friends looked out at the clear afternoon sky. The sun was shining bright over the shrubs and grass on the edge of the gas station parking lot. There was hardly a cloud to be seen.

"It feels like it's gonna get hot today," Bones commented.

"Oh dude, I'm still in my jogging shirt from this morning." Ricky gagged a little.

"I was wondering what that smell was," his friend grinned. "But I wasn't going to say anything." They elbowed at each other, laughing.

"Is this the home of the Aquabats!?" Yelled a voice. They froze and looked at each other.

"I say, IS THIS THE HOME OF THE AQUABATS!?" It called again, louder this time. The two men flattened themselves against the roof of the tram and peered down the side of the vehicle. Down below was a bald man with a mustache and goatee. He wore a button-up shirt and bowtie with a pair of cut-off shorts, revealing a pair of robotic legs.

"Who wants to know," Called Eaglebones. The Cyborg Man looked around.

"Who is there, show yourselves!"

"Not until you tell us what you want!" Ricky called down. The Cyborg continued to look around, then he cleared his throat. 

"Eh-hem! I am Sir Cornelius Roboticus Abicus the Second, and I have learned that amongst your super-hero group, The Aquabats, you hold a mechanized man with extraordinary capabilities of strength, and will-power."

"Mechanized man?" Bones whispered to Ricky, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm pretty sure he's talking about Jimmy." His friend said, "But that's a pretty weird thing to call him. I think it means 'mechanical,' y'know, like a computer or a toaster."

"Jimmy isn't a toaster!" Bones narrowed his eyebrows. "This guy's a jerk!"

"Yeah, he sounds like bad news." Ricky nodded. "What do you want with our Robot Friend!?" He called over the side of the tram.

"Robot Friend?" Sir Cornelius laughed like Ricky had told him some kind of joke. "Why my good man, I would like to ask your Friend to come and join me on a world tour. Mechanized people from all over the nation will be going. It is like a traveling museum exhibit of sorts, where people can look at the Robots, ask them questions about how they function and live their lives, and learn about this new and growing group of individuals."

"So you want to put our friend on display at a museum?" Eaglebones asked, exasperated. Neither of the Aquabats could believe what they were hearing.

"Of course!" Sir Cornelius beamed. "He would have a chance to meet his own kind, and make friends!"

Eaglebones and Ricky looked at each other in dismay.

"This guy definitely sounds like bad news." Bones whispered.

"You think?" Ricky bit his fingernails. "He sounded kind of pro-robo to me."

"No way," Falconhawk Frowned. "You heard him, he wants to parade Jimmy around the world like he's some kind of painting to look at. He wants to take our robot friend away from us."

"But people like paintings, don't they? I don't think it would be bad to get treated like a painting. We should really ask Jimmy how he feels about all this. He's the one who is involved."

" I guess you're right," Falconhawk bit his lip. "But Jimmy's upset about something, didn't you see him this morning walking around looking all tired and grody?"

"Yes, but-"

"Well he doesn't want to think about something like this right now. And think about how Commander would feel. Jimmy and Commander are the closest buddies out of the five of us. We can't upset Commander about this. He's always talking about the band and how he wouldn't know what he do if he lost any one of us."

Ricky sighed deeply and nodded. "Yeah Bones, I guess you're right. We don't really need this right now do we?"

"No way man," Eaglebones shook his head. "At least not right now. We should wait until Jimmy starts to feel better."

"Yeah, I bet he's sick or something. Got a virus." Fitness agreed.

"We'll just tell this bozo to go away for now, and in the meantime, we'll talk to Commander about it."

"So you think it would be good for Jimmy to go do something like that?" Ricky asked.

"I don't know." Eaglebones shrugged "I don't like it personally, but it's like you said: s'not my choice."

The two poked their heads out over the side of the tram.

"Ah! There you chaps are!" Sir Cornelius held out his arms. "Why don't you two come down and we can talk like proper gentlemen."

"I don't think so, dude." Eaglebones called. "We just wanted to tell you we're not interested right now. Our Robot isn't feeling so well, and-"

"Oh I thought you might say that. Drat it all!" The man stamped his metal foot against the concrete. It cracked under the blow. "Well, no matter, I've a way of getting my way." He took a wide step back, removed one of his metal legs, and hoisted it over his shoulder. Eaglebones and Ricky watched in amazement as the heel of the foot popped open and fired a rocket right at the Tram door. The tram shook violently. The two heroes held on to the roof for dear life.

"Drat again!" Sir Cornelius spat. "Now I've got to wait for it to reload!"

"I knew this guy was bad news!" Bones stood up on the roof and cried "I summon the DUUDE!" Ricky heard the screech of a falcon and the telltale flap of feathered wings. He looked up to see his friend staring pointedly at thin air.

"Dude, go grab that guy's bazooka." He jostled his arm, and the spirit animal took flight, then he turned to Ricky. "Let's go!"

Ricky nodded and jumped down to the ground, flipping as he went. Eaglebones followed suit, letting his friend catch him.

The Dude had wrapped her talons around the man's metal ankle and pulled, flapping her wings with mighty gusts of wind.

"I say!" Sir Cornelius snatched at his limb, gripping it hard as be balance precariously on his other leg.

The Aquabats charged at him. Ricky made it there first. He rained down a barrage of punches on every part of the man he could reach. Sir Cornelius let go of his bazooka and, and with one huge uppercut, Ricky sent him flying. He crashed into the gas station wall several yards away and slid to the ground, his eyes unfocused.

Eaglebones looked up at the floating leg and poked at a red button on the side that said "disable rockets." It let out a loud buzzing noise before falling silent.

"Thanks, girl," He smiled up at the invisible animal holding the limb. "Now go give that guy back his leg. He can't walk without it." Eaglebones walked up to Ricky and stood next to him. They both crossed their arms, surveying Sir Cornelius as he stood on his remaining leg and snatched the other from Dude's claws. He glowered at the two of them.

"Mark my words, gentlemen." He spat. "I will return for your mechanized man, or my name is not Sir Cornelius Roboticus-"

"We get it dude!" Ricky shouted. "Just go away."

Sir Cornelius growled like an animal, popped his leg back into place, and limped back to his tan Volkswagen.

Ricky wiped the sweat off his forehead. "You've always got a good sense about things, Eaglebones," he said. "And here I thought he really was a nice guy."

"Yeah..." The two men watched as Sir Cornelius drove away, shaking his fist at them angrily through his window. "Well Rick, I don't think I knew for sure he was a bad egg."

"It's probably some weird bird sense." Ricky shrugged.

"Sure, we'll call it that.” Bones rolled his eyes and smiled. “He probably will be back though."

"Should we tell Jimmy what he wanted?" Fitness looked over at his buddy, who rubbed his chin.

"We should probably just tell everyone to watch out for him." Eaglebones turned on his heels and walked back to the tram. Ricky followed suit.

As they entered their home, Cheese Louise came walking up the hallway. She had an Aquabats shirt rolled up and tied around her neck like a bandana. Bones took an instinctive step back as Ricky climbed through the door behind him.

"What's up?" The runner asked, then he saw the dog. "Oh, I'm sorry Eaglebones, here, let me just grab her." But the dog had already trotted up and pressed her cold nose against Eaglebones' hand. He flinched and drew it away. The dog whined up at him, then turned, and sat her old bottom down on the top of his foot. He looked down at her nervously as her warm body pressed against his legs.

Ricky got ahold of her makeshift collar. "Gosh Bones I'm sorry." He apologized as he tugged. "C'mon girl, betcha Crash has cooked you some lunch or something. Let's go." She went with him reluctantly, and the two of them left Eaglebones behind at the doorway.

Bones stood stock still for several moments. Then, he took a deep breath, and walked down the hall in the opposite direction, towards the Livingroom.


End file.
